


Silly Little Spider

by joyful_soul_collector



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort/Angst, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Family Fluff, Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Good Peter, High metabolism, Hurt Peter, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad, POV Peter Parker, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Mess, Poor Peter Parker, Poverty, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Starvation, Swearing, Tony Angst, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Worried Tony Stark, enhanced metabolism, hunger, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-26 00:19:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19756738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joyful_soul_collector/pseuds/joyful_soul_collector
Summary: Poor Peter Parker doesn't have enough money for food (And Tony has to do something about that)





	1. 48 hours

**Author's Note:**

> I have another story like this called Just So Hungry, but I was like "What if I did the same idea but add in a LOOOOOOOT more angst?" So I did.

My stomach growled as I swung through New York. It was summer-time which was always harder than school. Aunt May and I had to pay for all our meals in the summer, no more free breakfast and lunch from the school for me. If I was a normal, non-superhero kid, things would be a lot better. I wouldn’t feel hungry again less than an hour after I ate, and I wouldn’t feel as sick and weak and tired as I do right now. My stomach wouldn’t hurt so damn much either. 

But at least I would get a chance to rest in a few minutes. Mr. Stark called, saying he wanted to make a quick update to my suit, so I would get a chance to sit down at Stark Tower. I landed in an alleyway not too far from the tower and quickly changed out of my suit, but left Karen’s earpiece in as I always did. 

I only walked for a few minutes when my vision blurred suddenly, the ground seeming to lurch beneath me. I grabbed the fence I was walking along to steady myself, and blinked rapidly while my head swam. 

“Peter? Your blood sugar is low, you haven’t eaten in 48 hours,” Karen said into my ear.

“I’m fine, but thank you Karen. Don’t tell Mr. Stark,” I said.

“Alright Peter. But it would be best for you to eat something before doing any more strenuous activity.”

“Thanks Karen, I’m okay though, I’ll be fine.”

I trudged my way to Stark Tower, barely noticing anything until I was in the elevator going to Mr. Stark’s lab. My stomach grumbled, a sharp twinge pricking somewhere above my navel. I rubbed at it, trying to prevent future interruptions, and the elevator door opened.

“Hey Mr. Stark!” I said in the cheeriest voice I could muster.

“Hey kid! You ready to get this suit updated? I got a few designs I think we could try,” Mr. Stark said, and he launched into an explanation of his new ideas. I sat down at his lab table, looking around as I listened to him ramble about my suit. I looked at all the tools on his tables, DUM-E doing something in the corner, the buildings outside the window, but the thing that caught my eye was a microwave in the corner. 

It was just a normal old microwave, looking plainly out of place among all of the crazy gadgets in the room. It reminded me of eating popcorn and watching movies with Aunt May. Mmm, popcorn. So crunchy and buttery, the kind of snack that you could eat without even noticing it much. I remember times before my spider-bite when I would eat too much popcorn and give myself a stomach ache. That doesn’t really happen anymore, I can’t remember a time I ate too much after the spider-bite. 

“So what do you think?” Mr. Stark said. I snapped away from the microwave and looked at Mr. Stark, who was gazing at me expectantly.

“Hmm? Oh, shit I’m sorry, I just spaced out a bit I guess, heh,” I said quickly. He looked at me skeptically, his eyes going up and down as though he were scanning for injuries. 

“You alright kid? You seem a little out of it.”

“Of course! I’m just a little tired from patrol, that’s all.” Mr. Stark almost nodded, but suddenly looked down and tilted his head. He always did this when he was listening to Friday say something in his earpiece. 

“Friday said that Karen told her your blood sugar was low. You hungry Pete?”

“Nah, I’m fine--” My stomach cut me off with a pitiful gurgle. Mr. Stark laughed.

“Ha, might wanna tell that to your--” He cut off, tilting his head again. Mr. Stark’s gaze suddenly hardened, his laugh dying from the air. He looked back up at me with a rather stern face.

“48 hours is a long time Peter. Especially for you,” Mr. Stark said softly. My face turned scarlet, and I looked down at my toes, fiddling with a pencil in my hand.

“I uh, I guess,” I said. 

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you lie about how you were feeling? You know I would give you something to eat, right?”

“I know, I just, I didn’t want to be intruding or something, I didn’t want to… to take from you.”

“ _Take_ from me? What, like stealing? Kid, you’re never ‘taking’ from me. You’re too good to be stealing from people, don’t you actively _stop_ people who steal from others?” Mr. Stark said. He moved to try and make eye contact with me so I lifted my head.

“You’re not a thief for wanting to eat, Peter.” 

He looked down and spoke to Friday. “Hey Fri, could you order two large cheese pizzas for me and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Spider? Thanks.”

Mr. Stark reached under the table and pulled out a protein bar, sliding it across the table to me. 

“What--Oh no, I couldn’t, you’re already buying--”

“To hold you over until the pizza comes. Your blood sugar is low enough for you to be passing out at any moment, and I’m not letting you go hungry like this for one more second.”

My stomach rumbled quietly as I looked down at the bar in my hand. I didn’t want to eat it and be… taking away from Mr. Stark, but at the same time I wanted so desperately to devour the whole thing in one bite. 

“Eat it Peter. I’m not asking.” 

I looked up to see Mr. Stark with very stern face. I thought wildly of Professor McGonagall, how Harry described her as someone you wouldn’t want to anger. I bit my lip, and unwrapped the bar, taking a large bite out of it.

“Thanks,” I said with my mouth full. Within a couple seconds the bar was gone, and I was licking the crumbs out of the wrapper. It helped a little, but now that I’d eaten a bit, my body had more energy to remind me how hungry I was.


	2. Focus on me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets to eat. TW for Panic Attacks.

It only took a few, agonizing minutes for the pizza to get here, and finally I was able to sit down and really  _ eat _ . Mr. Stark lead me to the dining room, then left for a moment, saying something about how cold I looked. 

I shoveled pizza into my mouth with reckless abandon, barely paying attention to the taste, not taking nearly enough time to chew, only trying to ease the ache in my stomach. I didn’t even notice the tears coming down my face until Mr. Stark came back and pointed it out.

“Woah kid! Kid, hang on, slow down for a second,” Mr. Stark said, pulling the plate away from me and tossing a red blanket onto a chair.

“No!” I screamed, stretching my fingers to the retreating plate. Mr. Stark started violently, and I immediately felt guilt seep into my chest. “No, oh no I’m so sorry, I just--  _ Please _ .” 

“No, Pete you need to stop for a minute okay? You’re crying buddy, and you’re going too fast. Believe me I know how it feels, but you have to take a break for a few minutes, even if it’s just one or two.”

“No, no no  _ please _ Mr. Stark, I just want to--”

“Peter, look at me,” Mr. Stark said softly. I tore my eyes away from the plate, looking at Mr. Stark but not really seeing him. He put his hands on my arms, searching my face. “It’s going to be alright. You’re going to be able to eat, I’m not taking it away from you. Please, Pete, look at me.”

“I  _ am _ looking at you--”

“ **_Focus_ ** _ on me _ ,” he said. He took my face in my hands, and the warmth of his fingers seemed to bring me to earth. I hadn’t realized I was having a panic attack until now, I’d mistaken it for excitement over the food.  _ Maybe it was too much excitement _ , I thought. My brain felt like boiling water, thoughts like bubbles, rising up rapidly but disappearing just as quick to make way for new ones.

“Breathe,” Mr. Stark said. “Breathe with me, in… and out… in… and out…” He put a hand on my chest, putting gentle pressure there as I shakily sucked in air. We breathed together like that for a few minutes, and with each exhale my mind became more and more calm. 

I realized my stomach was hurting a bit, like it was surprised by the food and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it yet. Now I understood why Mr. Stark wanted me to take a break, and something in the back of my mind reminded me that you can throw up if you eat too fast, especially if you haven’t eaten in awhile. 

“I um, okay, I’ll take a break. I just, I’m sorry, I panicked, I thought--”

“It’s okay, I get it. You don’t need to apologize.” Mr. Stark sat down in the chair next to me. “Peter, can you tell me why you haven’t eaten in so long? Is something wrong?”

“It’s not an eating disorder, if that’s what you mean,” I said quickly. “I’m just… I’m poor. We don’t have enough food for me at home. If I was normal I would be fine, but my metabolism is crazy high now, so it’s not enough. I’m just--” I cut off. 

I didn’t want to say it. I didn’t want to burden anyone, I didn’t want anyone to worry about me, I didn’t want that look to be on Mr. Stark’s face. I looked down at my toes, feeling more tears start to prick at my eyes.

“Peter? It’s okay, I know what you’re thinking, you’re not being a nuisance or anything. Just tell me.”

“I… I’m hungry.” My voice broke as I started to sob again. “I’m hungry, I just don’t want to feel like this anymore, I hate this, I’m so hungry all the time! I never feel like anything is enough, I feel so tired and sick and cold every damn day, and I know Ned and MJ try to help but I don’t  _ want _ help, I just want to be able to do this on my  _ own _ I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of  _ me! _ ” 

I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes. Mr. Stark got on his knees next to my chair and gathered me in a tight hug, one arm around my waist and the other stroking the back of my head, pressing my face gently into his chest. He was holding me so tight, I was sure it would’ve made a normal person cry out in pain, but since I’m not exactly normal, it felt like the most comforting hug I’d gotten in a long time.

“Why would anyone get hurt trying to help you?” he said.

“Be-Because that’s what happens to everyone who comes near me. They all get hurt. Ned was almost killed by that glowy-thing, Liz’s dad got put in jail and she left, Uncle Ben got killed, everything that happened with The Snap, and all because I couldn’t get my shit together and do it  _ myself _ !”

“Peter, none of those things are really your fault. You couldn’t have helped those things, especially The Snap. What could you have possibly done to prevent that?”

“I could’ve tried harder! I could’ve tied Thanos up better, I could’ve figured out what he was going to do, I could’ve pulled the damn glove off faster--”

“No, you  _ couldn’t _ have. Pete, if you could’ve done those things, then you would have. You did everything you were able to, and you tried your absolute hardest. I could see it on your face the whole time we were on that goddamn planet.

“And I’m gonna tell you something very important:  _ you can ask for help _ . It really is okay to ask for help. And it’s okay to accept the help that people offer you. If you don’t, it’s  _ guaranteed _ the people around you hurt.”

I opened my mouth in shock, and looked up at Mr. Stark. There were tears glistening in his eyes. Unshed tears, but still tears.

“Kid, it kills me inside to see you like this. It hurts to see you so sad and in pain, but it hurts even more that you’ve been trying to keep it silent, and hidden away. It hurts to even  _ think _ of you being all alone, and it’s downright agonizing to actually see you isolate yourself, just because you think it will make everything okay.”

“Oh no, Mr. Stark, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you--”

“Don’t apologize, it’s really not your fault. I know how your brain can twist in on itself and convince you that what you’re doing is the right thing. It’s just a matter of fixing that behavior. But for now…” Mr. Stark’s fingers pressed deep into my side. My stomach rumbled so loud it vibrated my ribcage, and there was no doubt that Mr. Stark could feel it in his fingers. He released me and my face went scarlet. I tried to hide it by wiping away the tears on my face but I don’t think that helped much.

“You’re starving. That was probably a long enough break for your stomach to settle. You don’t feel sick at all, do you?”

“Uh, no, not really,” I said, focusing on my middle, trying to feel for any twinge of pain or nausea. “Just, ya know, hungry.”

“Of course. Here,” Mr. Stark got up and sat back in the chair next to me, pushing the plate of pizza back to me. “And I brought you this too, you looked cold.” He draped the blanket around my shoulders. I snuggled into the soft fabric, pulling it cozily around my torso and neck until my limbs felt safely trapped inside. Then I poked a hand out and snatched up my slice of pizza, being sure to chew carefully but quickly. 


	3. What really matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony can relate to Peter

This was much nicer than panic-induced speed-eating. I could actually enjoy the taste and the sensation of getting fuller. I hummed happily and smiled, licking off any extra sauce on my lips. 

“That’s the happy boy I know,” Mr. Stark said. 

“To think I was so hungry I was crying only a few minutes ago,” I said quietly. 

“Hey, I’ve been there, I know how you feel kiddo. I’m lucky Captain Marvel found me, I think I would’ve starved to death,” Mr. Stark said solemnly. 

“Really? You were on that ship for that long?”

“Oh yeah, long enough to teach Nebula to play paper football. She and I became good friends during those few weeks.”

“Did you freak out like I just did?” I said nervously.

“Of course. Though it was a little harder for me because I was too weak to even sit up straight, much less eat something. I was fed through a tube for a few days before doing pretty much anything. Though I definitely cried when I did.”

“You cried?” I said. Mr. Stark, crying? I’d seen him tear up, but actually crying? It was hard for me to imagine.

“Oh yeah. Cried like nothing else, I just hadn’t eaten in so long. It was just nice to chew something.”

“What did you eat?”

“Good ole cheeseburger. I’d been craving that the whole time I was on the ship, so you bet it was gonna be the first thing I ate myself.”

“Well now I feel stupid. You went for a whole week so it makes sense that you cried, but here I am, only two days and wailing like a baby.”

“Hey, don’t talk to yourself like that,” Mr. Stark said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Two days without food is a very long time, especially for a growing teenager. And it’s even worse with your spidey metabolism, so being a teen, coupled with your powers and not to mention the amount of work it takes to be a hero,  _ and _ still function as a person? You’re working yourself to the bone, kid.”

I looked down at the table, pausing my chewing for a second, a frown forming on my face. I hadn’t thought about it like that. I guess I’m not blowing things out of proportion like I’d assumed I was doing. Maybe things really are hard, and I’m not weak like I’d labeled myself to be. What if I’d just manipulated myself into thinking I was stupid and inept?

“Thank you Mr. Stark,” I said, chewing again. 

“Don’t thank me yet, we still have to talk about something,” he said. Mr. Stark leaned forward seriously, his brow pulled tight in a frown. “How long have you been having to go hungry like this?”

“I--Uh, since the spider-bite I guess. It’s worse in the summer when I don’t have free breakfast and lunch from school. But even then, those are meant for normal kids, not radioactive kids, so they don’t fill me up as much as I probably need. Though, it’s not like it really inhibits my superhero stuff.”

“How can you know that? If you’ve never been a superhero on a full stomach, how would you know if it inhibits you?”

“Well I can still save people, and that’s what really matters right?”

“What? No! You can’t settle for less like that Pete! You can’t put yourself in danger to save people, you’ll get hurt!”

“Mr. Stark isn’t being a superhero doing just that? Putting yourself in danger so other people don’t have to?”

“N--Well--Yes, but this is different! You starving doesn’t help anyone, all it does is hurt you!”

“It helps Aunt May!”


	4. Why I care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony comforts Peter

Mr. Stark gave me a rather incredulous stare.

“It--It helps Aunt May,” I repeated. “She doesn’t have to buy as much food if I don’t eat as much. Then we have more money for rent and all that stuff. And we got our rent bill for the first time this summer, and I figured it might be easier to pay it if we didn’t buy as much food so I didn’t eat as much this week. I went a little overboard these past two days I guess.”

“You guess? Not eating for two days straight isn’t a little overboard, it’s downright dangerous. From now on, I pay for your food, got it?”

“What? No! No, I--”

“Peter, remember what I said? It’s okay to accept the help people that offer you. And it’s no skin off my back. I’m a billionaire kid, I paid for every single one of my employee’s college loans, and not just the scientists here either. Compared to that, your food is a few loose pennies in my pocket.”

I went silent for a few moments, finishing the first pizza. I don’t understand why he’s doing all this for me. First he gives me a cool suit and updates it every now and again, then he asks me to help him in his lab, then he’s buying me pizza and now suddenly he’s paying for all my and Aunt May’s food? I just don’t get it.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked. Mr. Stark gave me that same incredulous look.

“What do you mean?”

“I just… I don’t get it. What makes you think I’m worth doing any of this for?”

“Wh--I--I care about you obviously!”

“Yeah but  _ why _ ?! Why, what on earth did I do to make you… make you do that?”

“You didn’t  _ do _ anything! You’re just you! You, yourself, is why I care! I don’t have conditions for you to meet, you’re just yourself, your happy, wonderful self and that’s why I care!”

“That doesn’t make sense!”

“Why?”

“Because only parents are like that and last time I checked I don’t have any of those!” My vision blurred as hot tears started sliding down my face again. God, I’m crying a lot today. Feelings are stupid.

Mr. Stark swept me into a big hug again, hugging just as tightly as before. He rubbed my back and shoulders as I cried silently. At least I wasn’t sobbing like I was a few minutes ago.

“You’ve got quite a lot of stuff going on in that head of yours, don’t you?” Mr. Stark said softly.

“I guess. Lots of stuff going on outside my head that makes the inside of my head all crowded.”

“That makes sense. And you’ve had to deal with all this by yourself, huh?”

“I dunno, I’ve always done things by myself.”

“Well you won’t have to any more, okay?”

“Okay. I dunno how I’m gonna explain all this to Aunt May without her figuring out I’m Spider-Man.”

“I’ll explain, don’t worry kid. Hey, you still hungry? You haven’t even touched the second pizza.”

“Well I wanted to save some for you, you bought it for both of us right?”

Mr. Stark snorted and took out two slices, setting them on a plate. “There, now I have pizza too, will you eat the rest of that now?”

“Yep!” I chirped, pulling the box towards me.

“Hey, how bout you stay here for the night? I want to monitor your vitals and stuff, maybe see just how quick your metabolism is.”

“Oh, I guess, are you sure?”

“Of course! I’ll have you sleep in the room right next to my lab, that way you won’t be too far and can come get me if you need me.”

“Oh, okay! I’ll tell Aunt May I’m at Ned’s house or something.”

“Good idea, and don’t forget to tell Ned that too, we wouldn’t want Aunt Hottie to call and find out you lied.”

“Good point.”

I texted Ned and Aunt May, then set my phone on the table and started eating again. Mr. Stark ate his slices too, but I have a feeling he only did it because he knew I wouldn’t eat if he didn’t. Sneaky, Mr. Stark, very sneaky. It only took maybe ten minutes for me to finish the pizza. At some point I stopped feeling hungry, but I didn’t notice this until the last bite had been swallowed.

“I’m full,” I said.

“Well don’t sound so surprised, that’s how you’re supposed to feel,” Mr. Stark said with a smirk.

“I… huh,” I said, not sure what to say. I hadn’t felt full in a long time. It was weird, feeling the heaviness in my stomach, not feeling shaky or cold at all. I was still tired though, I realized. But it wasn’t a miserable exhaustion that I usually felt. It was more like sleepiness, feeling drowsy and almost drunk. 

“You tired kid? You look like you’re gonna fall over any second.”

“M’full. M’tired and m’full. Feels weird,” I mumbled, my eyes slipping shut.

“Not sick though, right?”

“No, just weird. Can’t r’member las’ time I felt all warm ‘n full like this.” Mr. Stark didn’t say anything for a moment, but I was too tired to put much thought into that.

“Well, how ‘bout we get you to bed?” he said, and I opened my eyes to see him standing up.

“Mmhmmm, le’s do that, that’s a good idea. You always have the best ideas Mr. Stark, that’s why you’re so rich,” I said, my eyes half-shut.

“Ha, thanks kid. Here, hold on to me, wouldn’t want you to fall.” Mr. Stark held out his arm.

“I can’t fall, I’m a fuckin’ spider, spiders just stick to stuff, they can’t fall.” But I latched onto his arm anyway. 

“Man you sure are silly when you’re tired.”

“Fuckin-- Makes sense I h’vn’t slep’ good in like three days. I’m a silly spider.  _ Silly, silly, spider _ ,” I sang. Mr. Stark dragged me onto the bed, tucking me safely in the covers. I curled up under the soft, thick blankets, hugging my torso and belly.

“Well I hope you sleep well, silly spider,” Mr. Stark said warmly. I was conscious enough to feel him ruffle my hair, before falling into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! Hope you all liked it! Comment any constructive feedback you have!


End file.
